Locals take issue with Northville as ‘snobby’

A typical day on Northville's Center St., looking north from Main. Northville was recently named the “snobbiest” city in Michigan by the website RoadSnacks.(Photo: JOHN HEIDER | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)Buy Photo

When longtime Northville Mayor Chris Johnson heard his city had made a list of the 10 “snobbiest” places in Michigan, the first thing he did was look up the criteria used.

Turns out a website called RoadSnacks used a variety of things to put together the list it recently released, including the number of art galleries, private schools, and median income and house value.

When he saw that, Johnson, ending his 28th year as the city’s mayor, was “happy” to have made the list.

“Good median income, high home values and great schools? All good!” Johnson said Thursday. “However, the website needs to look up the word ‘snobby.’ The criteria listed does not equal snobby.”

Friendly confines

Like a lot of Northville Township residents, Jeanette Samson spends a lot of time in the city of Northville, shopping, lunching and enjoying what she called the “small town” feel of the city and its people.

When she was told about the RoadSnacks list, she scoffed at the notion.

“That’s terrible, and I don’t think it’s true,” said Samson, who visited the city Thursday with her granddaughter, Lauren Azzopardi of Plymouth Township. “I spent a lot of time here, and I think it’s a very friendly place.”

RoadSnacks analyzed more than 60 places in Michigan to put together its list, one of several the site puts out.

Northville topped the list, but nearby communities also made the cut. Plymouth was third, and the City of Novi finished eighth.

Data driven

According to Chris Kolmar of RoadSnacks, the list was compiled not “on our own biases,” but on “cold, hard data.” Here’s what the site began by counting every place in Michigan with more than 5,000 people based on the 2013 American Community Survey.

Then they looked at:

• Median home price (Higher is snobbier)

• Median household income (Higher is snobbier)

• Percent of population with a college degree (Higher is snobbier)

• Private schools per capita (Higher is snobbier)

• Theaters per capita (Higher is snobbier)

• Art galleries per capita (Higher is snobbier)

Using Wikipedia, statistics RoadSnacks used included population (5,996), median household income ($88,237) and median home price (119,500).

Kolmar clearly had fun with the rankings, and tried to stem any bad blood caused by them.

All in fun

“Let’s just be clear, this list may be completely scientifically proven and absolutely irrefutable (hah), but, really, it’s all in good fun,” he wrote. “These aren’t bad places to live, so don’t get that idea.”

Art galleries is one of the criteria, but Abigail Wright-Geddes, the director of the Northville Art House, clearly disputes the notion that having any number of arts organizations makes a city “snobby.”

“I think having several art galleries doesn’t make us snobby, it makes us cool,” Wright-Geddes said. “It means we have things people want to do. I actually think Northville is a pretty down-to-earth place. There are probably a lot of cities that are ‘snobbier’ than Northville.”

State Rep. Kurt Heise was doubly stung by the RoadSnacks list, since he represents two of the top three communities on it. The Plymouth Township Republican’s district includes both Northville and Plymouth, so imagine his surprise at how snobby his constituents are.

Snobby vs successful

“I guess that gives me the snobbiest House district in the state,” said Heise, tongue clearly in cheek. “I don’t know who these guys (RoadSnacks) are, but I don’t think they’ve had the chance to tour Northville or Plymouth.

“They don’t know how cool and outgoing and welcoming we are,” Heise added. “We’re not snobby or snooty, maybe we’re just successful.”

Azzopardi, who spent Thursday afternoon in Northville with Samson, grasped the idea the list, while perhaps fun to talk about, is pretty meaningless. In fact, she was surprised other communities weren’t on it.

“Birmingham should be on it, maybe Troy,” Azzopardi said. “I don’t notice (snobbiness in Northville or Plymouth) at all. These are small towns, everyone owns their own business, and they’re happy to have support.”